Dehradun: Owing to the ego tussle between the state government and the Centre, many Railway projects are hanging fire. While the Uttarakhand government alleges that the Centre is ignoring projects by not approving them, the Central government is of the view that due to lack of lobbying the projects have not been given green signal.

Consequently, the plans of expansion of Railways in the mountainous region are in limbo. Not only this, the Ministry of Railways has put on hold the projects of spreading new lines and constructing Railway bridges in the region. As a result, no new rail tracks have been set up for long, nor any new train has been started in the areas.

At least 16 road over bridge were built in 2006, which are yet to be functional, while survey and inspections have been completed.

The issue of starting a new train has disappeared in political rhetoric. The plans to start Muzaffarnagar - Roorkee Railway line, Rishikesh - Karnprayag, Tanakpur - Bageshshwar, Dehradun - Vikashnagar, Kalsi and Saharanpur – Mohnd lines are still waiting for the Centre’s nod. Not only this, the plan of running Shatabdi Express between Delhi and Ramnagar and from Delhi to Kathgodam is also biting dust.

Secretary of State for Transport S Ramaswamy said, “The talks with the Centre are going on and we will soon resolve the issue.”